


I Had Some Help

by Savay



Series: 9 Days of Sense8 [3]
Category: Sense8 (TV)
Genre: 9daysofsense8, F/M, rileyappreciationday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-10 20:37:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11134287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Savay/pseuds/Savay
Summary: In which Will is nervous to finally meet Riley’s dad, Riley thinks it’s adorable, and her father is just glad to see his daughter happy.(Written for #RileyAppreciationDay for #9DaysofSense8. #BringBackSense8, etc etc. Please contact me if you haven't seen the petition to renew the show yet.)





	I Had Some Help

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry if this is kinda rushed. This week has been pretty busy, even outside of the #BringBackSense8 campaign stuff. I hope you like it!

After they’ve traded Whispers and Jonas for Wolfgang, the cluster leaves London as quickly as they can.  (They have to wait a few days before Wolfgang is well enough to travel.)  Riley, always connected to the underground scene, finds them a safe house in Brussels.  She’s happy that everyone is doing well, but once things start to quiet down, she starts to feel a bit homesick.  Not for Iceland, necessarily, but her father.

Riley tries not to show it.  Even with the makeshift blockers Kala made them cutting off their internal connection, though, she’s never been good at hiding what she’s feeling from her cluster.  So when Nomi casually mentions she saw news that Riley’s father’s orchestra is going to be playing in Brussel soon, no one’s really surprised that she’s been keeping watch.

They decide that it is too dangerous for her to go to the show.  It saddens Riley, but she knows it’s true.  They do manage, however, to get her a burner phone to call him before he leaves Iceland so they can make plans to meet the day before the concert.  Part of her wants to introduce him to the entire cluster.  She wants her family to be whole.  Riley knows that this would put him at risk, though.  BPO still doesn’t have Sun, Lito, or Capheus’ names, and Gunnar having them would only make him a target.  (She doesn’t mention the idea to anyone.)  Instead, it is decided that Will alone will accompany her to the park Nomi and Wolfgang decided was the safest meeting spot.

As much as she loves her cluster, Riley’s not too upset that it’s just Will she’s bringing with her.  If it had to be one of them, it was always going to be Will for her.  He gives her strength and comfort, feels her pain as his own.  She wants her father to meet the man who flew across an ocean to save her.

Will, on the other hand, is actually kind of nervous.  He’s dated people before, sure, but it’s never been like _this_.  He’s never loved someone as much as he loves Riley.  But he’s never been good at the whole “meet the parents” thing, and what if Riley’s dad doesn’t like him?  He’s felt how much Riley’s father means to her.  But Will knows that Riley’s father is still close with Sven, and Sven was Magnus’ brother, so what does that mean for Will?  Will tries to shove the voice in his mind (the one that almost sounds like Whispers but he knows is just the paranoia talking) as far back as he can.  (Sometimes, though, he can’t get it to shut up.  _Second Choice.  Second Choice.  Second Choice._ )

When the day finally comes, adrenaline pumps through both of their veins.  Will is tentatively excited, but still anxious about what Gunnar will think of him.  Riley, on the other hand, is filled with pure excitement.  She misses her father so much, and now she will finally get to introduce him to her other family.

When Riley spots her father, she squeezes Will’s hand tightly, resisting the urge to run forward.  Instead, they walk up slowly, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves.  Still, it’s hard for Riley to contain herself when she’s finally right there, up close.

“Papa,” she greets him warmly, coming up from behind and giving him a hug.

Gunnar turns into the hug, wrapping his arms around his daughter before he can even fully see her.  “Hello,” he says after a minute.  “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too,” she sighs into his shoulder.

After another moment, Riley sees Will shift awkwardly out of the corner of her eye.  She stands up and grins widely, then pulls Will by the hand so the two of them are sitting on the bench with her father.  “Papa, I want to introduce you to someone.”

Riley’s father raises his eyebrows.  “Oh?  Is this the mystery man I was smuggling food for?”

“Shhh,” Riley says immediately, but she giggles as she does so.  “Yes.  This is Will.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Will,” her father says.

Will sticks his hand out for a handshake.  “It’s very nice to meet you, sir,” he says stiffly.

Gunnar laughs and takes Will’s hand.  “No need to call me ‘sir’,” he says with a grin.  Will finally breaks a smile at that.  When he pulls his hand away from the shake, Riley grabs it again and holds it in her own.  Her father’s face softens as he sees it.  “Have you been taking good care my Riley for me?”

 _It’s more like the other way around_ , Will thinks.  But before he can say something, Riley answers, “Will has been there for me through…through everything.”  She shoots a look at Will.  “He’s more than taken care of me.”  ( _He put me back together,_ Riley thinks.  She wishes Will could know what she was thinking right now.)  Now Will’s the one squeezing her hand.

“You took care of yourself.  I was just there when you needed someone to help,” Will replies.

Riley could argue that point, but that’s not what she’s here to do right now.  They can discuss semantics later.  For now, Riley wants to tell her father the truth.  “I couldn’t have done it alone,” she says.

(They had discussed this ahead of time.  Riley wanted her father to know about the cluster in some capacity or another, even if he couldn’t meet them all face to face.  She hated keeping things from him.)

“None of us could have,” Will says.

At that, Gunnar’s face wrinkles up.  “Us?” he asks, looking at Riley.  He doesn’t look disapproving, just confused.

“Will’s not the only one who’s taken care of me,” Riley answers.  “You remember how I told you there were some people after us, but I couldn’t say why?”  Gunnar nods.  “It’s because of the...connection that Will and I have.  But we’re not the only ones who have it.”  Her father is completely baffled looking now.  “It’s hard to explain.”

“There are eight of us,” Will lends.  “It’s more than a connection, really.  I woke up one day and suddenly I could hear your daughter’s music.  Except I wasn’t in London.”  He swallows.  “I was in Chicago.”

Riley nods.  “It was slow at first, but now they are all a part of me.  We feel what the others feel.  We can hear and taste and see things from people all over the world.  When I was in the hospital....”  She trails off for a moment.  Looks to Will for courage.  He nods, wishing they could speak as one.  “When I was in the hospital, Will felt it.  And even though he was in America, he knew where I was and came to find me.”

“I had some help,” Will adds with a small chuckle.

Gunnar is quiet for a moment, looking between the two of them.  “I can see why people would be after you.  A connection that strong is a powerful thing.”  He leans forward and hugs them both.  “I don’t quite understand but...if you’re a piece of Riley, then you’re a piece of me.”

“Thank you,” Will says.  He leans into the hug.  (Riley squeezes him a bit tighter, knowing how hard this is after his own father.)

“No.  Thank you,” Riley’s father replies.  “Thank you for bringing back my Riley.”


End file.
